Huawei has emerged as a key protagonist in the wider US-China trade war that has seen tit-for-tat tariffs imposed on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods
Huawei has emerged as a key protagonist in the wider US-China trade war that has seen tit-for-tat tariffs imposed on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods AFP / STEFAN WERMUTH

Chinese telecommunications company Huawei will distribute a cash bonus of 2 billion yuan ($285.4 million) among 90,000 of its employees to thank them as the company faces U.S. sanctions. A company spokesman also said that all 180,000 employees would receive double their salary this month.

Huawei has been under a U.S. blacklist since May, which prohibits American firms from doing business with the company. The Trump administration considers Huawei's equipment to be a security risk, and that it could facilitate spying by the Chinese government.

Earlier this month, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said that the U.S. planned to give licenses "very soon" to American companies that want to sell equipment to Huawei.

Huawei has claimed in September that the U.S. is taking various measures to disrupt its global business. The company has said that U.S. law enforcement has tried to intimidate its employees and to turn them against the company. No concrete evidence has been provided by Huawei to support such a claim.

Huawei also alleged that the "U.S. government has been leveraging its political and diplomatic influence to lobby other governments to ban Huawei equipment."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and State Department officials have tried to convince multiple countries to ban Huawei from building their 5G networks.

Despite Huawei's grievances with the U.S. administration, the company's sales increased 24.4% over a year earlier in the first nine months of 2019. A possible deal on Huawei could be addressed in negotiations between the U.S. and China over the tariffs.

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